


A as in Aftercare

by blueelvewithwings



Series: Spanking Sunday [50]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Aftercare, BDSM, Cuddling & Snuggling, Flogging, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Non-Sexual Kink, Sub!Barry, Subdrop, Subspace, safewording issues, showering together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-09-08 03:23:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20294566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueelvewithwings/pseuds/blueelvewithwings
Summary: A misunderstanding at the end of their scene plunges Barry deep into a panicky subdrop. Luckily, Len is there to catch him and put him back together.





	A as in Aftercare

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SophiaCatherine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SophiaCatherine/gifts).

> A while ago Soph was telling me that they'd love to see how many different types of aftercare I can put into one fic, and somehow, I haven't been able to let that idea go. By my own counting, this fic contains seven different types of aftercare. So here it is, the Aftercare Fic (tm)! I hope you'll have as much fun reading it as I had writing it~

„Good boy“, Len murmured, ruffling Barry‘s hair after he‘d taken him down from their Saint-Andrew‘s-cross. Barry could still feel the last hits of the flogger on his skin, like a lingering ghost from their scene. He winced as the cuffs came off his wrists, aggravating the already chafed skin. He knew he‘d be healed within hours, with his speed healing and all, and he loved the pain of it during the scene, but afterwards, it easily got too much for him, when he just wanted to be held and snuggled and held close, and not experience more pain and soreness.

„You were so good“, Len told him as he led him over to the bed, guiding Barry to lie down on his front to not disturb the burning marks of the flogger that covered him all the way from his shoulders to the back of his knees. Barry loved it when Len took it this far, when he thoroughly trashed and destroyed him, only to then put him back together while Barry floated on a post-scene high.

„You good?“ Len asked him, and Barry simply nodded, smiling at him as he snuggled into the pillows. Yeah, he was more than good now, and he couldn‘t wait for his cuddles to start.

„Alright. I‘ll get started on dinner then, you rest for a bit, and then we can eat on the couch, yeah?“ A quick kiss on the cheek, and with that, he was gone.

It took a few moments for Barry to comperehend what had just happened, with him being deep under in subspace still, but the moment he realised he was alone, and that Len had just left him there while he went to make dinner, he started panicking. Len had told him that he was good, but what if he hadn‘t been good enough? What if Len was angry at him, Had he been so bad that Len thought he didn‘t need any aftercare? Was the scene not over yet, was he still being punished?

That must be it, he thought. He must still be getting punished, but it was so cruel. Normally, when Len called him a good boy that meant that their scene was over, that they‘d move on to the aftercare. And Len wasn‘t actively punishing him anymore… but he‘d left him alone, without so much as a cuddle, or a check-in… so it must still be part of his punishment. But Barry hadn‘t been bad enough to warrant such punishment, he was sure! And Len had never punished him like this…

He didn‘t know if he was allowed to go after Len and beg for his forgiveness, or if he was meant to stay where Len had put him and wait for him to come back. He sat up, his ass screaming in pain at the pressure on his welts, but he didn‘t care as he curled up and hugged his knees. He wished Len would have told him how long his punishment would still go, and what he was being punished for… He was a cruel Master tonight, making Barry think that they were done and then just continuing like this…

Without even conciously noticing it, Barry had started to cry, and he furiously wiped at his eyes, trying to get himself to stop. It wouldn‘t do for him to cry, he was supposed to take his punishment graciously and without complaining, and he wanted to be a pretty boy for his master, not a tear-stained mess.

He had no idea how long he‘d been sitting there when Len came back into the bedroom. „Do you want ground beef or ground pork in your dinn- are you crying?“

Barry tried to hide his face when Len sat down next to him, wiping at his eyes again. „I‘- I‘m sorry, I‘m sorry, I‘ll stop. I- I‘ll be good, I pro-promise“, he hiccuped, trying to erase every evidence of tears from his face.

„But Scarlet, you are. I told you, you‘re a good boy, you took your punishment so well“, Len told him, and Barry could see the confused look on his face.

„Yo-you‘re not...punishing me anymore, Sir?“ Barry whispered, hating how teary his voice sounded.

„Of course not. Why would you think that?“ his Master looked taken aback by the notion, and Barry looked down, ashamed. He‘d thought the worst of his Master, he was such a bad sub.

„I just… you left me here alone“, he murmured with a shrug, trying hard to pretend that it wasn‘t a big deal for him. Len hadn‘t meant anything by it after all, apparently.

„Yeah? So I could start dinner. I asked you if you were good.“

Oh.

Not good to start cuddling, like Barry had thought, but good to wrap up the scene completely.

Oh.

„Oh. I thought…“ He shrugged and shook his head. „doesn‘t matter. I‘m sorry, I‘ll be good.“ Despite the screaming pain in his back, ass and thighs, he shifted, trying to climb off the bed. „I‘ll go take a shower.“ There was something hollow in him, and that something was growing and spiralling rapidly out of control, pushing him close to a panic attack, but he refused to ackowledge it.

„What?“ he hissed when instead of allowing him to stand, Len put his hands on Barry‘s thighs, keeping him in place.

„What‘s going on?“, he asked, clearly searching Barry‘s face for any hints.

„Nothing. I wanna go take a shower“, Barry gave back, much harder than needed, and tried to push himself up again. „Let me go.“

„Barry… Scarlet, you‘re panicking.“ Len looked more confused and worried by the second, and Barry had just about had enough. He pushed Len‘s hands away and forced him back as he stood.

„Tell me what‘s going on, please.“

„Nothing‘s going on. You ended the scene, I was still waiting for the aftercare so I thought you‘d be punishing me still, but you aren‘t so it‘s all good. I‘m gonna go shower now, will you be long with dinner?“

„But I asked you if you were good!“

„Yes, and I was good to start getting cuddles, which clearly you aren‘t gonna give so let it go, for fuck‘s sake! I asked if you‘ll be long with dinner!“

He turned around and stomped away, trying not to acknowledge the fact that he‘d just yelled at Len. He just wasn‘t in a mood for Len‘s mind games right now, if he wasn‘t going to get his cuddles and his aftercare he‘d just go take a shower to at least clean whatever cuts Len had left on him when he took out his anger earlier.

He didn‘t get far though, as firm but gentle hands grabbed his elbows and pulled him back, turning him and pressing his face straight into Len‘s chest as he found himself enveloped in a hug.

„Scarlet… fuck, Barry, I had no idea.“

Barry stayed rigid for a few seconds, and then all the fight left him at once and he melted into Len‘s arms, immediately starting to sob again as he realised just how much he truly needed this.

„Barry...darling, you can always ask me for cuddles. Always, always, always. Especially if you need them after a scene.“ Len maneuvered them around, but Barry didn‘t care why or how, as long as he could get that much needed physical contact with his Len. Soon though, he found himself on his front again, lying down on the bed as before, with Len pressed to his side, Len‘s hands caressing his hair and his arms.

„Let‘s wait with the full cuddling until your marks have mostly closed, yeah? I don‘t want to hurt you any more than this.“

Barry turned his head to the side, shuffling until he could nuzzle into Len‘s shoulder. „Just want you close to me, please“, he whispered, and Len somehow managed to press himself closer to Barry still.

„Alright...can you tell me what you need, Scarlet? Clearly, I underestimated how much aftercare you need“ - he shushed Barry as he opened his mouth to apologise -“No, shush, don‘t even think about it, you let me have my way with you so now you‘re entitled to all the care you need. But this is… so much more than we‘ve ever done before, so… can you tell me what you need?“

Barry hummed in thought and curled up lightly on his side, hoping the edges of the marks were healed enough by now to bear the slight friction of the sheets.

„Wanna be close to you“ he murmured. „Maybe… shower together, so you can clean the open areas? Cuddle… and I‘m hungry. Netflix? With me in your lap and cuddles. I just… don‘t let go of me?“

„Alright, I can do that“, Len promised, and placed a gentle kiss on Barry‘s forehead.

„Let‘s go shower first then, before the cuts close up?“

As they got up, Len kicked the discarded flogger to the side so Barry wouldn‘t stumble over it. Considering how Len was always very particular with his instruments and always insisted on cleaning them immediately and keeping them in immaculate shape, Barry knew he must be worried for his sub now, worried enough to disregard his toys and look only after Barry.

Soon, Len had maneuvered them under the hot spray, and though Barry flinched at first as the water hit his back, he soon relaxed and let the warmth wash away the tension and stress in his body.

„You know this‘ll sting a bit“, Len informed him as he got the washcloth ready, and Barry easily nodded and turned his back on him. This was always his least favourite part of the scenes they did, but he knew that it was necessary, and that it was very important to Len that Len cleaned him up and got a chance to inspect the damage.

„I‘m so sorry I didn‘t realise what you needed“, Len told him as he gently ran the cloth over Barry‘s shoulders, causing him to wince slightly.

„I thought it would be enough to make us a nice dinner, snuggle a little on the couch and then take you into the shower… I wasn‘t thinking about that fact that I just let you alone without saying anything, I thought it would be nice to let you rest and doze for a bit...“

„Mh… nice thought, just didn‘t work out the way it was planned… I think I crave cuddles too much for that to work.“

„Yeah… yeah maybe you do.“ Len sounded a bit subdued, but continued cleaning Barry‘s back easily enough.

„I‘m so sorry… are you feeling better again?“

Barry took a moment to truly figure out how he was doing, but then he nodded. „Yeah. Much. You‘re taking care of me now.“

„Of course I am. You were so very good, Scarlet. That was amazing. I‘m so impressed with how you just took that flogging and you bore everything I gave you, like the gorgeous sub you are. You know I love you more than I can ever say, right?“

Barry leaned against the wall with one hand, closing his eyes as the pain washed over him as Len continued cleaning him. He couldn‘t help but smile though, and give a mute little nod. It was amazing how Len, who hated to express his emotions, would get talkative and praise Barry to the mood and back after a scene, and how he‘d become so loving and touchy-feely. Barry loved it. Besides the cuddles and the care, that was another thing that he loved about aftercare, hearing all the praise and love fall freely from Len‘s lips, showering him in warmth and love.

„I know. You‘re the best“, he murmured, and sighed in relief when a slightly pinkish washcloth was tossed onto the edge of the tub next to him.

„There, all clean. Maybe we should give it a little more time before I put lotion on it though, I probably shouldn‘t put that in an open wound...“

„You really shouldn‘t“, Barry agreed with him and gingerly stepped out of the shower, trying not to wince too much. „Um… Len? It smells burnt in here?“

Len had stepped out of the shower after him and was sniffing the air suspiciously as well, before his eyes went wide.

„Fuck! The potatoes!“ And with that, he set off, running into the kitchen naked as he was, still dripping from their shower.

Barry couldn‘t help it and burst out laughing. He would be able to flash over there and dispose of the mess before Len had even reached the kitchen, but he knew it would hurt like a bitch, and maybe Len deserved it a little bit for leaving Barry alone like that. So he didn‘t go after Len directly but instead reached for a towel and started to dry himself off carefully, pouting at the way everything hurt when he moved about.

He had just finished drying himself when Len came back, a worried look in his eyes.

„Are you alright?“ He immediately grabbed the towel Barry was holding and pulled him close, wrapping him up in his arms.

„Yeah… I knew where you were going and why this time“, Barry nodded, but snuggled up to his wet boyfriend anyway. „But I‘m happy you came back.“

„Well you did tell me not to let go of you tonight, and your wish is my command, so I want to spend all my time at your side“, Len told him, then carefully disentangled them enough so he could reach for a towel as well and dry himself off. „The first batch of potatoes is now charcoal, but I put a new one into the oven“, he explained, tossing his towel over the towel rack along with Barry‘s when he was done.

„What do you wanna do before dinner‘s ready? I‘ll need to babysit the meat in a little while and keep an eye on the veggies...“

„Mh… is it okay if I just watch you? From the couch or the table or so? That way you‘ll be close...“ He knew that Len didn‘t always like to be watched when cooking or doing chores, since that oven made him feel like he was being watched and judged, but tonight, he nodded easily enough.

„Sure, Scarlet. Let‘s just get you in a robe and you can hang out on the couch with some tea, yeah?“

A few minutes later, Barry found himself on the couch, watching Len go about making dinner for them. He missed his touch and craved more cuddles, but he was alright like this, seeing Len and being able to call out to him should he need to, and with a mug of his favourite tea in his hands, he was okay. He settled in and cuddled himself up in his big, soft robe, and watched his boyfriend cook him dinner.

„How‘s your back now, by the way? Did I take things too far?“ Len asked after a while, turning around halfway to Barry as he waited for an answer.

„Nah… it was great.“ Barry took a sip of his tea and shifted, taking some pressure off his back. „Not something for everyday, and not something for often, even, but it was great. It was like… you drew me out of my own head so much, and so far into subspace, it was amazing… It was… I was just existing to please you, and you wanted me to suffer, so I suffered for you, like that was all I was living for in that moment. It was amazing. Really, I loved it. Thank you, Len.“

Len abandoned his cooking for long enough to come over and give Barry a sweet kiss and ruffle his hair. „No, darling. Thank _you._ Thank you for letting me do that to you, thank you for suffering for me like that, for taking everything I was giving to you… you were so gorgeous and beautiful there, crying and whimpering and in so much pain, but holding yourself still for me because you knew it was what I wanted… Every time I think I can‘t love you any more than I do, you prove me wrong.“ For that, Barry pushed himself up to give Len a deep, loving kiss, watching him with a fond smile as he hurried back to prevent their dinner from burning again.

The conversation stalled a bit after that, Len getting busy with getting everything ready at the same time, and Barry getting a bit sleepy and comfortable, even though he was still acutely missing Len‘s touch.

„Dinner in the kitchen or dinner on the couch?“ Len asked him after a few minutes, and for once, that was an easy decision.

„I‘m not moving anymore tonight, so you better bring dinner here“, he called over, already excited to fill his stomach and to have his Lenny close again. As a reply he only got a loud laugh from Len, but he carried Barry‘s huge bowl of dinner over easily enough and handed it over.

Soon, they were pressed against one another side by side, each of them munching on their dinner. It was silent for the moment, but Barry didn‘t mind that. He never talked much while he was eating, too preoccupied with trying to get as many calories as he needed into his body. Eating didn‘t bring him joy anymore as it had always done before, but now with Len there, meals had gotten more varied and more fun again, and he often did find himself enjoying his dinner much more than expected. Len, he‘d learned, had taken up cooking after Mick had decided to teach him how to keep himself alive and healthy using nutritional substances meant for oral ingestion, and by now he was quite a good cook, Barry had to admit. Not as great as Mick – it was always a feast and a very special day when Barry got to eat Mick‘s outrageously good cooking – but good enough for sure. They usually took turns cooking, but whenever they‘d had a scene it was Len‘s turn to make sure Barry got fed, and he always came up with something nice, something Barry truly enjoyed eating, even if the tenth portion didn‘t taste that great anymore, but he‘d gotten used to that.

„You said something about Netflix earlier?“ Len prompted when he was handing bowl number eight to Barry and plopped down next to him. „Was there something you had in mind?“

„Mh… I was mainly thinking about you and me on the couch, all cuddled up, that mostly happens when Netflixing.“

„Netflixing is not a word, Barry“, Len chided him, but Barry just poked out his tongue at him.

„Yes it is.“

They settled for some movie that seemed like it would make for a good background soundtrack because neither of them really cared to watch it, and then they curled up on the couch when Barry had finished dinner helping number eleven. As usual Len lay down on the couch with his legs slightly spread and Barry fit himself neatly between them, with his head coming to rest on Len‘s chest. It was their perfect position for cuddles and headscreatches, both of which Barry sorely needed to night, and both of which Len was just all too happy to provide.

„I love you so much“, Barry murmured once he was perfectly situated on Len‘s chest and snuggled into him. In response, Len started to play with his hair while his other hand wrapped around Barry‘s shoulder and very gently started to stroke his thumb over Barry‘s fluffy robe. By now, Barry‘s cuts were healed enough that it was still a little uncomfortable, but no longer painful to be touched there. And well, Barry would take Len‘s cuddles over comfort any day, so he smiled and settled in for the evening.

„This is perfect“, he told Len, who hummed his agreement.

„Still sorry I made you panic on the way here… I thought you‘d be good until we could cuddle here after dinner… you could have come to me when you were so unsure, you know?“

„Yeah, I know… but I was panicking and still in subspace so I had no idea if I was even allowed to leave the bed“, Barry told him, shaking his head a little. It looked a little stupid now, that he‘d been thinking that Len would punish him by leaving him alone in their bed, but the panic had been real, so he knew better than to dismiss it as just a misjudgement happening in subspace.

„It was stupid of me to leave you there, I should have checked on you more“, Len explained, clearly berating himself. „I didn‘t realise you were so deep in you wouldn‘t even have the clarity of mind to call your safeword anymore. I mean, I also thought we were past the scene so I didn‘t think you needed it anymore, but clearly, you would have.“

Oh. The safeword. Barry hadn‘t thought about that at all. He hadn‘t spent a single thought on the fact that he could just have called his safeword when he was so unsure and so upset, and that that would have brought an end to whatever scene he‘d been thinking they were still doing.

„I didn‘t… wow, I must‘ve been really out of it. I didn‘t even realise that safewording was an option anymore...“ He shook his head, trying not to get annoyed with himself. Things like that happened sometimes, especially in combination with a heavy subdrop like he‘d had one.

„Oh Scarlet… I really should have checked on you more. I promise I‘ll do so next time, okay? I won‘t leave you alone, I know that now, and I‘ll make sure you‘re collected enough to know what‘s going on before we‘re doing anything.“

Barry leaned up at that and tilted his face up to Len in a clear signal, and Len obediently leaned in for a kiss. „That sounds great. Maybe next time we can do something lighter, where I won‘t be as out of it, and then we‘ll see that it‘ll go smoother?“ Maybe a little bit of bondage, or a light hand spanking… Barry was sure they‘d come up with something.

„That sounds like a plan. We shouldn‘t do a heavy scene again directly after this, I think. I wouldn‘t… I need to know I can take proper care of you again first.“

„I know you can. But I agree, I wouldn‘t want a heavy scene again next right away. I think something nice and light were we‘re both very comfy with the setting is better.“ He turned to look at the movie for a moment, but quickly turned back to face his Len. Len was more interesting than any movie anyway.

„I kinda feel like dessert now...“ he told Len, and put on his best pouty face to sway him to go get some sweet treats for them.

„Dessert as in… you want something sweet or dessert as in… _special dessert_?“ Len asked him, and it took a moment for Barry to parse that.

„Oh. Um… I don‘t really… want sex tonight?“ He felt awkward saying that, he‘d kind of just assumed that they wouldn‘t go there tonight. And after what he‘d been through, he didn‘t want to let anyone near his ass, either. „But… I could give you a handjob later, if you wanted?“

„Sure, you don‘t want sex and I make you bring me off anyway, what a great boyfriend I am“, Len deadpanned and then pulled Barry into a kiss before carefully pushing him to the side. „No sex, real dessert it is. Ice cream?“

„Do we still have some of that salted caramel ice cream?“ Barry asked, trying his best to smile innocently at Len, who just booped him on the nose.

„One big bowl of salted caramel ice cream, coming right up“, he replied and shuffled off into the kitchen, only to come back with the whole tub of ice cream that he then fed to Barry who had curled up in his lap the first chance he got.

„You‘re like a little kitten sometimes, even though you‘re my pup“, Len remarked, and for that, Barry licked him once across the face, setting Len off ingo the cutest fit of giggles.

„Hey, Len?“ he asked once Len had wiped his face and calmed down again, then took the next spoonful of ice cream from Len.

„Hm?“

„I had a great time today, despite everything. I love doing scenes with you. I love you, Len.“

Len‘s smile was a thing of beauty, and Barry couldn‘t hold back his own answering smile or resist the urge to press a kiss to Len‘s nose.

„And I love you, Barry. I love you. You‘re the best thing that has ever happened to me.“

In the end, neither of them had watched even a full minute of their Netflix movie, but Barry couldn‘t find it in himself to care when they moved back into the bed and slid under the covers. In fact, Barry didn‘t care about anything but the fact that he was healed up enough that he could fully snuggle into Len‘s arms and bury his face in the crook of his neck as he settled in to sleep. He was exhausted in the best way, his stomach was full for a little while, and he was in his Len‘s arms, about to drift off into the wonderful sleep he always had after a good scene with his dom.

So really, life was perfect in that moment, and Barry wouldn‘t want to change a thing.


End file.
